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Tag: Bamanga Tukur

  • Bamanga Tukur’s daughter marries Taoheed Adedoja

    Fools have tried and wise men have failed in trying to explain the chemistry that draws two people together. It is the same chemistry that has brought former Minister of Sports and Youths Development, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, together with Jemila, daughter of former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, seven years after the demise of Adedoja’s wife.

    As would be expected, eminent personalities across the country converged at the Civic Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State to rejoice with the new couple on Sunday. Adedoja had on May 20, at the BMT Africa Garden Mosque in Abuja, married Jemila. A day earlier, the event had been marked with a lunch on Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Adedoja, a former Provost of the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo and PDP governorship candidate in the last general election, had lost his wife, Hadijat, on March 6, 2009.

    Among those who attended the wedding were Oba Saliu Adetunji, the Olubadan of Ibadan; Chief Lekan Balogun, the Otun-Olubadan of Ibadan and Chief Owolabi Olakunlehin, the Balogun of Ibadanland. Also present were Alhaja Aminat Abiodun, the Iyalode of Ibadan; Chief Lekan Alabi, the Agbaakin of Ibadan; Senator Femi Lanlehin; Senator Gbenga Babalola; Senator Teslim Folarin and Alhaji Sharafadeen Alli.

    Others were Elder Wole Oyelese, former Minister of Special Duties; retired Maj.-Gen. Raji Rasak; Alhaji Daud Akinola, the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland and Chief (Mrs) Bola Doherty, among others.

  • EX-PDP CHAIRMAN TUKUR ALLEGES ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE

    EX-PDP CHAIRMAN TUKUR ALLEGES ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE

    Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday escaped what his aide described as “an attempt on his life.”

    The incident occurred along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport area in Abuja while Tukur was on his way to Owerri via Abuja Airport to receive a doctorate degree award from the Federal University of Technology (FUTO) Owerri, the Imo State capital.

    Speaking on the incident, Prince Oliver Okpala, the Special Assistant, Media, to Tukur, said, “It happened as his convoy, made up of four jeeps were driving to the airport, and a tinted Hilux van emerged and attempted to break into the convoy  while heading towards Ambassador Tukur’s  jeep. But his security escort prevented this move.”

    Okpala explained further that the hilux had forcefully run into the convoy hitting and damaging three of the jeeps including that of Tukur in the process, adding, “Then the occupants of the hilux demanded that the door of the car should be opened and the occupant pulled out. The hilux’s occupants also fought to disarm the security aides of their guns and this met some resistance.”

    In the process, the occupants of the hilux, whoever they are, manhandled the policemen, but Alhaji Tukur and his driver cleverly escaped from the scene.”

    Okpala said further, “As my boss alighted to board the aircraft, the same people again tried to reach him, possibly to execute their motive, but the airport security now joined his security details to subdue them before Tukur was quickly rushed to the departure hall.”

    Okpala said they have notified the police of the development, but added that no arrest has been made.

  • Tukur quits partisan politics

    Tukur quits partisan politics

    A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has quit partisan politics on account of old age.

    Tukur on Tuesday announced his retirement from politics during a lecture organised to mark his 80th birthday in Abuja.

    Tukur said, “I deem it fit to use this opportunity of my 80th birthday celebration to announce my retirement from partisan politics. It is time to say goodbye to formal politics.

    “I have used several political platforms to serve my country. It is time to rest. I leave partisan politics for the younger generation. I want to be a statesman and an adviser.

    “At the age of 80, I feel I can serve our dear nation more in the capacity of a statesman and father figure.”

    The ex-PDP chairman said his doors were open to politicians, business men and other Nigerians who might seek his advice or opinion on issues affecting the country.

    The elder statesman enjoined politicians to play the game according to the rules and to have the interest of the country at heart, stressing that politics should be seen as an avenue for rendering service to the country.

    Tukur continued, “Politics should not be a bread and butter affair. All politicians should rededicate themselves to the service of the people.

    “Elected officers and government officials should regard their positions as sacred trust and it must be used to serve the nation and no more.

    “My nation has given me so much. It is now pay-back time. I want to rededicate my time, life and resources to the service of our nation as an elder statesman and father.

    “My aim is to help take Nigeria to the land of promise, to make her truly great and to ensure that she assumes her rightful position in the comity of nations.

    “I want Nigeria to be truly great in line with the dream of her founding fathers in my life time.”

    He called on Nigerians to support the Muhammadu Buhari administration, saying there should be peace in all facets and organs of government for country to move forward.

     

     

  • Buhari greets Bamanga Tukur at 8O

    Buhari greets Bamanga Tukur at 😯

    President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated one of Nigeria’s foremost entrepreneurs, political leaders and elder statesmen, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as he celebrates his 80th birthday on Tuesday.

    Buhari joined Alhaji Tukur’s family, friends, associates and well-wishers in rejoicing with him as he marks another notable milestone in a very worthy and fulfilled life.

    The President, according to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, seized the opportunity of the Tafidan Adamawa’s 80th birthday to reaffirm the nation’s enduring gratitude for his significant contributions to Nigeria’s political and socio-economic development over the years.

    He particularly commended Tukur’s diligent and patriotic service to his community, state and country as a public servant, political leader and accomplished businessman of international repute.

    The President also extolled the exemplary political maturity and commitment to national peace and development displayed by the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in being one of the first people to congratulate him after his victory in the March 28 presidential election.

    He prayed that Almighty Allah will bless Tukur with many more years of good health and the company of his loving family and numerous friends within and outside Nigeria.

  • Buhari has kept faith with campaign promises – Tukur

    Buhari has kept faith with campaign promises – Tukur

    A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for keeping faith with his campaign promises.

    This is contrary to claims by the PDP that the President has derailed in the implementation of the manifesto of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    According to Tukur, Buhari has hit the ground running in tackling corruption, insurgency and unemployment with the efforts already yielding positive results.

    “As far as I am concerned, the President is going according to his agenda. So you can judge as well as I can judge. Buhari wants to confront corruption, he wants to confront insurgency and he wants to tackle unemployment. So for me, he is going the right way, he has not deviated.

    “We must remove religion from politics. We must accept ourselves as Nigerians and not see ourselves as being from A or B state, or local government. We must ensure that culture, ethnicity, religion or anything we cannot change, we don’t bring to the table”, Tukur said.

    Addressing newsmen on Thursday at his Abuja residence, ahead of his 80th birthday, coming up on Tuesday, Tukur cautioned the PDP against destructive criticism of the President and his policies.

    “My advice is that they should not allow religion, ethnicity and other parochial considerations creep into the nation’s politics,” Tukur said.

    The ex PDP chairman advised President Buhari to choose his ministers on merit, above any other considerations, saying “Buhari should not appoint those who want the job, he should appoint those the job wants.”

    Such appointees, he said, must be credible, experienced and incorruptible   with proven integrity to make a difference.

    He counseled that politics should be built on justice, equity and fairness to deepen the nation’s democracy and governance.

    The ex party chairman said the PDP would have recorded a better outing in the last general election if he had remained the chairman, adding however, that the Nigerian people got the change they desired.

    He foreclosed the possibility of defecting to the APC at his age, saying in democracies across the world, there must be a ruling party and the opposition.

    Recalling the circumstances under which he was forced out of the PDP, Tukur said some power brokers in the party found it difficult to embrace his principled leadership style.

    “I preached what I believed. I wanted election and people in the PDP said they wanted selection. If the majority or the strong people in the PDP did not believe in it, then the choice or the next thing for me to do was to leave.

    “Under the circumstance, it is either I leave or they leave. But I did not want them to leave, so I decided to leave. At that time, people said I was preaching internal democracy instead of imposition. So it was difficult for me to sit there and allow them to leave,” Tukur said.

  • Why PDP lost 2015 election -Bamanga Tukur

    Why PDP lost 2015 election -Bamanga Tukur

    Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has described the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre in the 2015 general elections as people’s quest for alternative to a failed party.

    He said, “Democracy is government of the people by the people for the people. So, if the PDP fails to deliver on its promises, people will go to the alternative. Change is always good, provided it is going to bring better alternative.”

    The former PDP chairman stated this while featuring on Guest of the Week, a programme on  Kaduna based Liberty Radio, yesterday. Tukur also blamed the PDP’s woes on lack of internal democracy.

    According to him, certain people in the party didn’t want him to practice internal democracy that he was preaching.

    He noted that the APC, by making all the elements relevant and allowing the people choose their leaders through elections allowed the democratic system to prevail for the interest of allý.

    Speaking on his ordeal that forced him out as National Chairman of the party, Tukur cleared the air that, “Jonathan did not insist I leave the party, there are people in the PDP who felt I should not practice what I preach because discipline is very important, following the laws you established, is very important, why you do not want to follow the laws you established and you don’t change them, you have problem.

    “President Jonathan could not protect me due to the powers of the governors, the governors are very powerful and therefore, if you do not do what they want, you are done away with and I believe nothing can be done to themý.

    ý”I was accused of being a virus in PDP, and I did not deny it, I told them I am a virus for good governance, virus for internal democracy, virus for equity and justice, I hope that ývirus will continue,” he explained.

    On the leadership style on President Muhammadu Buhari, the former PDP Chairman threw his weight behind the President and asked Nigerians to allow Buhari lead the nation at his calculated pace.

    “I salute Muhammadu Buhari because he has integrity. He believes in discipline, he believes in fighting corruption and believes in good governance because, the only way we can go forward and be respected in the community of nations is by coming together and carrying our people along”, he said.

    Speaking on insecurity in the north east, he said, “In 2013, when Boko Haram element started I said to Nigerians, ýif the country is attacked, all Nigerians must come together and attack the elements and indicate their principles including, strengthening both military and para-military defences, dialogue, so that they understand why they are doing what they are doing and diplomacy, by making sure they government talks to Niger, Chad, Mali and Cameroon.”

  • Bamanga Tukur to PDP: you caused your downfall

    Bamanga Tukur to PDP: you caused your downfall

    Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Bamanga Tukur has said the party caused its own downfall.

    Tukur, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said he  warned the party in 2013 that it would suffer defeat in the 2015 general elections if the leaders refused to change their ways and allow for internal democracy.

    In the statement, titled “PDP- Were you not warned?”, the former chairman reminded the party leadership of the speech he read at the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of  Thursday, June 20, 2013, which he presided over, as the party chairman.

    Quoting copiously from the speech, Tukur said he had warned his fellow party leaders and members to have a change of attitude if the party must succeed.

    He said: “In our efforts to achieve success, we must   rededicate our genuine political beliefs, change our attitudes and identify our political needs. These good values cannot be realised without  accepting the supremacy of the party constitution as key instrument that ensures progress, stability and internal discipline.”

    He also drew their attention to his words that “we must strengthen our democracy through determination, not personalisation, correction, not manipulation, collectivism, not individualism and sacrifice, not disservice.

    “If these pronouncements are substantial then, the party should quickly take urgent steps to achieve higher levels, at least by coming to terms with democratic norms and practices.”

    He argued that he had also asked party members to accord President Goodluck Jonathan some measure of respect, saying: “We owe ourselves a duty to protect, project and support our President to leave behind a lasting legacy for the Nigerian”.

    Tukur said: “It guarantees independence  but demands for public trust. It promises opportunity but needs dedication.  Nigeria will continue to be a great nation if only we can maturely and jointly tackle its challenges and exploit  its natural endowment.”

    According to him, he had pointed out the new direction the party should follow, before he was forced out as chairman by forces that did not want him. “We had told them then that our focus for the future should be about consolidation and continuity and that goes beyond the plans of our opponents that PDP will fail,” Tukur said.

    The former PDP chairman said the party also ignored his proposal on how to develop the party and steer it away from the crisis rocking it, which included the need to “reconcile our disagreement by closing ranks  and stimulating greater  efficiency in our judgments, for which mechanisms were put in place to achieve unity at all levels”.

    He said: “Internal democracy should triumph over the current practice of imposition of candidates during the party congresses thus collectively we sustain the political aspirations of Nigeria.”

    Tukur also said he recommended corporate image making consultants “to develop a package for an annual PDP Merit Award where party members of proven exemplary conduct and achievements will be rewarded”.

    He also recommended that the party “explore methods for improved communications for sustainable relations of the party-executive, the party –legislature and the party community relations! Enhance the financial position of the party by graduating to e-membership system,” among other issues.

    Tukur said he also warned that the party could not afford to be run through severe underfunding, arguing that “democracy is a serious business but easily broken; it is a small commodity of exceptional value reserve”.

  • Tukur to PDP: I warned you on looming defeat

    Tukur to PDP: I warned you on looming defeat

    The former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has said that he is having the last laugh over the party’s defeat in the just concluded general election, saying the party ignored his warning and refused to mend its ways.

    Tukur said in a statement in Abuja that he had warned the party in 2013 that it will suffer defeat in the 2015 general election if the leaders refuse to change their ways and allow for internal democracy within the party.

    In the statement titled: “PDP- Were you not warned?” the former PDP chairman reminded the party leadership of the speech he read at the PDP National Executive Committee [NEC] meeting of Thursday, June 20, 2913, which he presided over as chairman.

    Quoting from the speech, Tukur said he had warned his fellow party leaders and members to have a change of attitude if the party must succeed.

    He said: “In our efforts to achieve success, we must   rededicate our genuine political believes, change our attitudes and identify our political needs. These good values cannot be realized without accepting the supremacy of the party constitution as key instrument that ensures progress, stability and internal discipline.”

    He also drew their attention to his words that “we must strengthen our democracy through determination, not personalization, correction, not manipulation, collectivism, not individualism and sacrifice, not disservice.

    “If these pronouncements are substantial then, the party should quickly take urgent steps to achieve higher levels, at least by coming to terms with democratic norms and practices.”

    Tukur argued that he also asked party members to accord President Goodluck Jonathan some measure of respect, saying, “We owe ourselves a duty to protect, project and support our President to leave behind, a lasting legacy for Nigerians,” while reminding them of the promises made on the PDP journey.

     

  • PDP suspends Bamanga Tukur

    PDP suspends Bamanga Tukur

    THE leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended the party’s immediate past National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, for one month.

    PDP National Legal Adviser Mr. Victor Kwom, who broke the news in a statement yesterday, said Tukur had been referred to the party’s National Disciplinary Committee for appropriate actions.

    Tukur had joined a suit brought by Aliyu Abuba Gurin before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the removal of the party’s incumbent national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, from office.

    The statement added that the former chairman was suspended for instituting the law suit without exploring and exhausting available internal party channels of dispute resolution.

  • PDP suspends Tukur

    PDP suspends Tukur

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended the party’s immediate past National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, for one month.

    A statement issued on Thursday by the party’s National Legal Adviser, Mr. Victor Kwom, said Tukur had been referred to the party’s National Disciplinary Committee for appropriate actions.

    Tukur had approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the removal of the party’s incumbent national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, from office.

    In the said suit, the former chairman had challenged his ouster in January and prayed the court to re-instate him as the party’s helmsman.

    The statement added that the former chairman was suspended for instituting the law suit without exploring and exhausting available internal party channels of dispute resolution.

    The statement said: “The NWC deliberated on the court case instituted against the National Chairman of the party, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu by the former National Chairman, Dr. Bamanga Tukur.

    “The NWC reasoned that for instituting a claim and counter claim in suit FHC/ABJ /821/2014; Gurin vs PDP & 3 others without first exploring and exhausting the party’s internal mechanism of redress and for attempting to stop the forthcoming national convention to nominate the party’s presidential candidate as well as regularize the position of the National Chairman and other members of the National Working Committee is unacceptable.

    “The NWC hereby suspends Dr. Bamanga Tukur and Aliyu Abuba Gurin for one month and refers them to the National Disciplinary Committee for infringing on section 58(1) (a) (b) ( h)( l) of the PDP Constitution 2012( as amended).”